[en] The purpose of this study was to test the usefulness of thallium-201 (Tl-201) thyroid scintigraphy in the detection of thyroid malignancies. Early and delayed Tl-201 scintigraphy was done in 135 patients with a clinically solitary thyroid nodule. There were 64 benign tumors and 71 malignant tumors. Scintigraphy was done 10 minutes (early scan) and 2 hours (delayed scan) after the administration of Tl-201. With a combination of early and delayed Tl-201 scintigraphy, sensitivity was 57.7% and specificity was 81.2%. Therefore, Tl-201 scintigraphy is of limited value for the detection of thyroid malignancies. (author)

[en] Superselective intraarterial chemotherapy for advanced head and neck cancers is a novel nonsurgical approach allowing organ preservation. There are two established methods for superselective catheterization: one transfemoral and the other retrograde catheterization through the superficial temporal artery (STA). The Seldinger technique using transfemoral catheterization may cause central nervous dysfunction and generally features a one-shot infusion procedure. However, selective catheterization through the STA does not cause neurologic problems, and intraarterial infusion can be repeated many times. After the percutaneous puncture of the STA in the supra-anterior region of the auricle, the guidewire is led selectively into the feeding artery of the tumor under fluoroscopic guidance, and then it is replaced with the infusion catheter. Recently, cisplatin (CDDP) has been recommended as a key drug for intraarterial chemotherapy, and weekly infusions of relatively low doses can be applied together with simultaneous intravenous sodium thiosulfate for systemic drug neutralization, or concurrent radiotherapy. This superselective intraarterial method is associated with a high response rate for primary carcinomas, only relatively mild systemic side effects, and acceptable common local toxicity. We consider that a combination of superselective intraarterial chemotherapy through the STA and concurrent radiotherapy has great potential for improving treatment results with organ preservation. (author)

[en] Computed tomographic images of 49 cases of unilateral sinus lesions were examined, and 4 findings were obtained as follows; 1) On the C.T. images of malignant tumors, detection of bone destruction was easy, but its early erosion was difficult. 2) Fungus infections and papilloma of paranasal sinuses demonstrated bone thickness as well as destruction, and this finding would serve as a differential point from malignant diseases. 3) From the C.T. values of soft tissue shadows in the maxillary sinus, it was impossible to differentiate malignant from benign lesions. However, a calcified or non-homogenous soft tissue shadow was seen only in cases of fungus infections and maxillary adenocarcinoma in malignant tumors, and it would be clinically a very important differential point. 4) Many of the unilateral sinus lesions will prove to be indications for surgery, except acute and allergic sinusitis. The paranasal C.T. examinations should be performed if the case does not respond to a conservative therapy over a month, and a case showing bone destruction by the C.T. images would require an exploratory Caldwell-Luc operation. (author)

[en] To identify genes that are associated with radiosensitivity in different p53 gene status, we used a cDNA microarray containing 161 genes related to apoptosis. Two kind of cells of wild-type p53 cells (SAS/neo) and mutation-type p53 cells (SAS/mp53) were utilized to clarify the expression of genes which induce apoptosis at different times after 6 Gy irradiation. The gene expression of casper was over 10 fold high in gene expression at 36 hr in SAS/neo cells as compared as unirradiated cells, whereas the gene expression of caspase disappeared at 2 hr in SAS/mp53 cells. These results suggest that the casper gene might play an important role for radiosensitivity. (author)

[en] Mutations in p53, tumor suppressor gene, have recently been shown to have an impact on the clinical course of several human tumors, including head and neck cancers. The genetic status of the p53 gene has been focused on as the most important candidate among various cancer-related genes for prognosis-predictive assays of cancer therapy. We examined the restoration of radiation- or cisplatin (CDDP)-induced p53-dependent apoptosis in human lingual cancer cells. The results suggest that glycerol is effective in inducing a conformational change of p53 and restoring normal function of mutant p53, leading to enhanced radiosensitivity or chemosensitivity through the induction of apoptosis. We have also represented the same results in vivo as in vitro. Thus, this novel tool for enhancement of radiosensitivity or chemosensitivity in cancer cells bearing m p53 may be applicable for p53-targeted cancer therapy. (author)

[en] To determine the clinical utility of 99mTc-MIBI scintigraphy (MIBI) in the localization of hyperfunctioning parathyroid lesions, detection of lesions in 14 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism was compared between MIBI, ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT). MIBI (85.7%) and ultrasonography (78.5%) demonstrated higher detection rates than CT (50%). Furthermore, combination of MIBI and ultrasonography (92.8%) increased the detection rate. One case of ectopic parathyroid adenoma was detected only on MIBI. The smallest parathyroid lesion detected using MIBI was a parathyroid adenoma weighing 300 mg. A combination of MIBI and ultrasonography is therefore useful for the localization of primary hyperparathyroidism, and MIBI is particularly useful for detecting ectopic lesions. (author)

[en] We retrospectively analyzed 213 patients, 197 men and 14 women aged 40 to 87 years, with laryngeal cancer treated at our department from September 1986 to December 1997. The male to female ratio was about 12:1. Cases included 120 glottic (56.3%), 90 supraglottic (42.3%), and 3 subglottic (1.4%). Radiotherapy for early cases and surgery, mainly total laryngectomy for T3 and T4 were conducted first. The 5-year cause-specific survival by site was 97.6% glottic and 77.5% supraglottic. The five-year survival was 88.6% overall. Local control was 83.8% in glottic T1a and 84.6% in glottic T1b. The 3-year preservation of the larynx was 89.1% in glottic T1a and 92.3% in glottic T1b. Distant metastases were observed in 14 cases, mostly to the lung, bones, and liver. At high risk for distant metastasis were those with supraglottic T3-T4, N1, N2b, or pN2c. (author)